Lovie Smith on Deshaun Watson trade: 'Sometimes divorce is good'
New Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith believes the Deshaun Watson trade was necessary for the Texans. Smith explained his rationale to Chris Collinsworth on Tuesday, saying, "Sometimes divorce is good."
Smith said both sides "will win" as a result of the trade.
Texans HC Lovie Smith speaks on Deshaun Watson and the road ahead in Houston.
Full episode ~> https://t.co/pRvqpkvyu0 pic.twitter.com/fO3PSoa7V5— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) May 31, 2022
“Sometimes divorce is good, and that’s my statement that I’ve made a lot of times when you know a split’s going to happen, and both parties are going to win once it does,” Smith told Collinsworth.
It was a clumsy analogy considering Watson has been accused of sexual misconduct by 23 women. Watson previously faced 22 claims of misconduct. Another woman filed suit against Watson on Tuesday, bringing the total to 23 women.
Smith — who gave the interview before the 23rd woman came forward — addressed those accusations, saying, "I don’t know exactly what happened. The accusations are there, and if they have merit that will all come out in time. But for our football team, we needed to move on."
Deshaun Watson still could face punishment from NFL
Watson requested a trade from the Texans following the 2020 NFL season. That offseason, accusations of sexual misconduct came to light. Watson spent the 2021 NFL season with the Texans, but did not play a single game with the team. Watson was not suspended by the NFL during the 2021 season.
With his legal situation still in limbo, Watson was traded to the Cleveland Browns in March. The trade occurred days after a grand jury declined to indict Watson on criminal charges. The Browns immediately signed Watson to a fully guaranteed deal worth $230 million. The Browns structured the deal so Watson would make only $1 million in 2022. It was assumed the team did that to lessen the amount of money Watson will lose if he gets suspended by the NFL.
The NFL is "nearing the end" of its investigation into Watson, Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported in May. It's unclear whether the new lawsuit against Watson will delay the league's investigation.
